LOOK UP, LOOK IN… AND LOOKOUT! - Isaiah 6

9th of the 1st month 2016/2017

Shabbat Shalom all,

Luqas/Luke 21:28 “And when these matters begin to take place, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

These were some of the words that our Master spoke to His taught ones when He shared with them what would take place before all shall see Him coming in a cloud with power and much esteem. As one reads through Luqas/Luke 21, Mattithyahu/Matthew 24 and Marqos/Mark 13 in regards to what will take place before our Master returns we can certainly see how much of what our Master describes in these chapters is already clearly evident in these last days, and He tells us that when we see these things that we are to see to it that we are not troubled by these things that have to take place and that we must possess our lives by endurance. Here in the account of Luqas/Luke we take note that our Master tells us that when these matters begin to take pace that we are to ‘look up’ and lift up our heads!

Tonight in a message called, ‘LOOK UP, LOOK IN… and LOOKOUT!’ I want us to be encouraged to be keeping our eyes fixed on the Prince and Perfector of our belief as we faithfully possess our lives by endurance. Tonight we will take a closer look at Yeshayahu/Isaiah 6 in order to glean some powerful insight and illustration of our need to look up, in and out, as I find it a very fitting passage in terms of our Master’s call to look up amidst a time where depravity and lawlessness is increasing at a rapid rate on a daily basis.

Before we look at Yeshayahu/Isaiah6 I first want us to take a look at the Greek word that is used here in Luqas/Luke 21:28 and translated as ‘look up’, which is the root word ἀνακύπτωanakuptō – Strong’s G352 which means, ‘straighten up, stand upright, lift oneself up, look up (as a person in hope)’. The call of our Master here is clear – straighten up and hold fast to the hope we have in Him and stand upright and firm in the belief! This is also a kind of a military type instruction that is given by our Commander to us, His troops, with the call to lift ourselves up from any despair and stand upright, being ready and armed in His Truth. We can only do this if our eyes are fixed on Him!

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 12:1-2 “We too, then, having so great a cloud of witnesses all around us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race set before us, 2lookingto the Princely Leader and Perfecter of our belief, יהושע, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the stake, having despised the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of Elohim.”

The Greek word for that is translated here as ‘looking’ is ἀφοράω–aphorao - Strong’s G872 which means ‘to look/ to turn eyes away from all other things and fix them on something’. Metaphorically speaking it means ‘to fix the mind upon/ give full attention/ looking intently upon/ to take heed’, and it can also carry the meaning, ‘to consider carefully, attentively look at’. This word comes from the two Greek words: ἀπόapo – Strong’s G575 which is a preposition and participle that means, ‘from, away from, at, in, to’ and the word ὁράωhoraō – Strong’s G3708 which means, ‘to see, perceive, attend to, take heed, see with the mind, beware, to see – as in becoming acquainted with by experience’.

The two words used here for our Messiah are:

PRINCE - ἀρχηγός - archēgos –Strong’s G747 – translates as ‘prince, captain, chief leader and author’ and describes ‘one that takes the lead in anything and thus affords an example, a predecessor in a matter, pioneer’.

PERFECTER - τελειωτής - teleiōtēs – Strong’s G5051 – this is the only place this Greek word and denotes a ‘finisher, completer, perfecter’ and describes ‘one who has in his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example of faith’. This is a description given only to יהושע Messiah who has become the supreme model for us to follow.

We are told to be ‘looking’ to Messiah – and what we can see from the verse before this one, is that in order to be able to properly ‘look’ at Messiah, we need to throw off and lay aside every weight and sin that easily entangles us and run with endurance - looking intently at our King as we run faithfully as servants of the Most High Elohim!

Many are trying to run, yet find themselves getting tired and unable to endure the hardships and persecutions that come as a result of trying to be set-apart amidst a crooked generation! The question that you need to ask yourself as you take an eye test so to speak is, “What are you looking at?” Are you looking at Messiah?

We are to look to Messiah and careful consider our ways and we are, at the same time, to make sure that our eyes are not looking elsewhere as we ‘take heed’ of the dangers of the corrupt teachings of man-made dogmas and traditions that lead people astray. If we are not looking to our Master, Saviour, Elohim and King then our eyes may be dangerously looking at that which cannot save us!

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 31:1 “Woe to those who go down to Mitsrayim for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl, nor seek יהוה!”

This is a severe woe that is given to those who are not looking to יהוה, the Set-Apart One of Yisra’ĕl!

The prophet Miḵah prophesied about 20 years prior to the House of Yisra’ĕl’s divorce and he prophesies from the southern kingdom of Yehuḏah in the face of the northern kingdom’s impending dispersion.

Despite the clear depravity and corrupt worship practices that were taking place this prophet made it clear who he looked to:

Miḵah/Micah 7:7 “As for me, I look to יהוה, I wait for the Elohim of my deliverance, my Elohim does hear me.”

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘look’ is the primitive root verb צָפָהtsaphah – Strong’s H6822 which means, ‘to look out, watchman, keep watch’. This prophet made it clear where His eyes were looking and in doing so recognises his need to be a true watchman of יהוה, hence his urgency in speaking the Truth!

This word προσδέχομαιprosdechomai can be understood as ‘going toward that which is to be received and welcomed’, and is used in:

Titos/Titus 2:11-14 “For the saving Gift of Elohim has appeared to all men, 12 instructing us to renounce wickedness and worldly lusts, and to live sensibly, righteously, and reverently in the present age, 13looking forthe blessed expectation and esteemed appearance of the great Elohim and our Saviour יהושעMessiah, 14 who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people, His own possession, ardent for good works.”

How do we ‘wait expectantly’? By renouncing wickedness and worldly lusts and live set-apart lives in complete reverence of Elohim, for we recognise that Messiah has redeemed us from all lawlessness! We wait expectantly by guarding His laws!!!

As we consider our need to be looking to our Master’s esteemed appearance and His compassion, we must recognise the urgency in our need to be diligent in keeping our eyes on Him and not be led astray by things that can cause us to lose sight or focus of walking in and staying in Him and living set-apart lives in complete reverence before our Mighty Elohim and King!

With that in mind I would like us to look at the experience that Yeshayahu had when he ‘looked up’ and saw the Master’s esteem! Turn with me to Yeshayahu/Isaiah 6 (Read)

In the first verse we take note that Yeshayahu looked up and saw the esteem of יהוה in the year that the Uzziyahu, the king of Yehuḏah, had died. I find the introduction of these events that took place very fitting in teaching us a great lesson on how we are to look up to our Master who is seated in the heavens! The name Uzziyahu - עֻזִּיָּהוּ–Strong’s H5818 means ‘my strength is Yah’ or ‘Yah is my strength’. Uzziyahu was certainly one of the most successful and powerful kings in Yehuḏah’s history and his reign lasted 52 years and had started out very well as he humbly recognised that he could do nothing without יהוה. Sadly we take note that once he had experienced success he forgot that it was יהוה who had helped him and strengthened him and he became proud and ignored the instructions of יהוה and even went into the Hěḵal of יהוה to burn incense, which he was not allowed to do because he was not a priest. He was chased out by Azaryahu and 80 other priests, which made Uzziyahu mad and he immediately became leprous and remained a leper until he died. What we can see from the first 5 chapters of Yeshayahu is that Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah had become extremely leprous, so to speak, as the apostasy and depravity of the people was clearly evident and Yeshayahu was called to speak up against the rebellion and lawlessness that was happening. With this account in Chapter 6 happening in the year that Uzziyahu had died we take note that in many ways the strength of the people had died, or rather that the people were not being strengthened by יהוה as worship had become so corrupt that it did not bring esteem to יהוה at all. Yeshayahu certainly felt the frustrations of people not listening to the call to repent and get cleaned up and at a time when there may have seemed to be no strength left in Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah this prophet is given a clear opening of his sight to see יהוה enthroned in His Hěḵal!

A once great king may have died and had left his throne on earth yet Yeshayahu looked up and saw the King of kings seated on His throne in the Heavenly Temple! What a magnificent sight this must have been for this courageous prophet who was called to speak to an apostate Bride. When he looked up, who did he see? He saw יהוה seated on His throne!!!

Yoḥanan/John 12:41 “Yeshayahu said this when he saw His esteem and spoke of Him.”

What did Yeshayahu say when he saw the esteem of יהוה? In Yoḥanan/John 12 our Master tells us in verse 38 that Yeshayahu said, “יהוה, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of יהוה been revealed?” and then again in verse 40 our Master tells us that Yeshayahu said: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they should not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and turn, and I should heal them.”

The people to whom the arm of יהוה had not been revealed due to apostasy remained veiled and hardened and were unable to see and understand who יהוה is!

Yeshayahu saw the arm of יהוה! He saw the esteem of יהוה! He saw יהושע Messiah seated on the throne! He saw our Mighty King and Saviour and his eyes had been opened to see our Master and Elohim. Many people today still have a veil over their eyes and have hardened hearts as they fail to acknowledge that יהושע Messiah is Master and Elohim and is seated on the throne as King, while at the same time He is before the throne and interceding for us as High Priest!

Sha’ul tells us in:

Qorintiyim Bět/2 Corinthians 3:15-18 “But to this day, when Mosheh is being read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 And when one turns to the Master, the veil is taken away. 17 Now יהוהis the Spirit, and where the Spirit of יהוה is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, as with unveiled face we see as in a mirror the esteem of יהוה, are being transformed into the same likeness from esteem to esteem, as from יהוה, the Spirit.”

This text is so true for so many today who may be going through the weekly Torah readings and deny that יהושע is יהוה our Saviour who came in the flesh, as their eyes and heart remains veiled when looking into the mirror of the Word that clearly reveals to us the powerful revelation of how יהושע our Saviour is our only One True Master and Elohim!

Yeshayahu ‘looked up’ and saw יהוה our Saviour! When you look intently into the Word who do you see? Especially as we consider the times that we are living in, when it seems as though the strength of so many is being diminished by the chaos of this world? ‘Looking up’ can be a metaphor or picture of having a proper expectation and longing for our Master and Elohim, accompanied by the proper belief that works out one’s deliverance with fear and trembling. It can also represent for us a picture of humility and a proper submission as we look up to our Master and Elohim for direction and protection! The opposite of looking up is ‘looking down’! Are you looking up or looking down? Looking down can be a metaphor for depression and anxiety where one’s eyes are drooped down without any expectation or hope and it can also picture for us pride, in the sense of when someone ‘looks down’ on another without showing a proper respect or regard for them! Have you ever had someone ask you, ‘why are you looking down?’? Looking down, in that sense, can picture for us a loss of hope and a position of being anxious and afraid and having no help, or rather not finding help and feeling hopeless and in despair. When we are looking up, on the other hand, we are exercising true faith and seeking our Master and Elohim as we seek first His Reign and His righteousness amidst what may certainly be desperate and worrisome times!

When Yeshayahu looked up and saw יהוה he also saw the seraphim that stood above the throne. The Hebrew word שְׂרָפִים – seraphim – is the plural of the word שָׂרָףsaraph – Strong’s H8314 which means, ‘fiery, fiery serpent’,and comes from the root word שָׂרַףseraph – Strong’s H8313 which means, ‘to burn, burn up completely’. The vision of these ‘burning, fiery’ creatures relates a clear picture of the consuming set-apartness of Elohim as they continue to cry out “Set-apart, set-apart, set-apart is יהוהof hosts; all the earth is filled with His esteem!”

Ḥazon/Revelation 4:8 “And the four living creatures, each having six wings, were covered with eyes around and within. And they do not cease, day or night, saying, “Set-apart, set-apart, set-apart, יהוהĚl Shaddai, who was, and who is, and who is coming!”

At the sound of the declaration of the set-apartness of יהוהĚl Shaddai there is a great shaking and the House was filled with smoke and the declaration that is made clear is that the earth is filled with the esteem of Elohim!

What we take note here is that despite the depravity of man and the fact that Uzziyahu the king had died and much of what was happening looked bleak from Yeshayahu’s view on earth, we take note that from heavens point of view the whole earth is filled with the esteem of יהוה of Hosts!!! This teaches us a clear lesson and vital truth that we must acknowledge and that is that יהוה is in control and He rules from on high! When things look terrible from our earthly perspective, we need to recognise our need to ‘look up’ so to speak, as we look intently into His Word and find great comfort in our Righteous King who reigns! Having said that, we also take note that He is יהוהĚl Shaddai and therefore recognise that He is the One who can destroy. The Hebrew word שַׁדַּיShaddai – Strong’s H7706 means, ‘the Almighty’, and comes from the root verb שָׁדַדshaḏaḏ – Strong’s H7703 which means, ‘to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, completely destroy’. When שַׁדַּיShaddai is collectively used with אֵלĚl – Strong’s H410 it becomes a compound title used for יהוה Elohim - Ěl Shaddai = Ěl Almighty – The Mighty One who is Almighty – The One who can completely destroy, and who deals violently with those who do not know Him, while being The All-Powerful One who protects His own that are known by Him! יהוהĚl Shaddai/ יהוהof Hosts!

He is not only our Commander and Chief who fights for us, He is also the one under whom we march and fight the good fight of belief; and the call is very clear – “who is standing up and being counted in Messiah, our Head and Chief?”

In seeing the esteem of יהוה of Hosts sitting on His throne and seeing and hearing the fiery creatures declaring His set-apartness Yeshayahu is gripped internally and declares a severe woe over himself!

After having looked up Yeshayahu now ‘looked in’ as this was the natural response to the true set-apart presence of the Almighty Elohim of Hosts! The set-apart presence of יהוה highlights our depravity, and Yeshayahu was greatly convicted within and all he could do was confess that he is a man of unclean lips!

The natural man, when looking at one’s life from a fleshly perspective, in unable to understand or receive the spiritual matters of Elohim, as Sha’ul tells us in:

Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man does not receive the matters of the Spirit of Elohim, for they are foolishness to him, and he is unable to know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Why I am mentioning this is to highlight the fact that when one walks according to the flesh then the ability to see that which needs to be corrected in one’s life does not happen and the one walking according to the flesh is, for the most part, very well contented with himself. He does not deal much in self-scrutiny, and is often not troubled by the twinges of his conscience. If at any time he has any faults, he compares himself with others, and readily persuades himself that he is quite as good, if not better than his neighbour and is in no need of any change. It is seldom that he wakes up to true conviction of sin until, in some way or another, there is revealed to him some “vision of Elohim” and some conception of the true nature of that Pure and Set-Apart Creator who made all and rules all.

When one’s eyes are truly opened to the perfect and pure set-apartness of Elohim, and who He is, then one cannot but be driven by the total contrast to recognise one’s own weakness, wickedness, impurity, unrighteousness and deeply engrained sinfulness. A conviction of sin flashes upon the one whose eyes are opened and it is a good thing if that conviction hits deep enough in order to bring him to the point of confession before an Almighty Saviour and King!

Yeshayahu’s confession, in the sight of The Set-Apart One, led to his cleansing, and we take note of what Yoḥanan tells us in:

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 1:8-10 “If we say that we have no sin, we are misleading ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is trustworthy and righteous to forgive us the sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.”

Yeshayahu cried out to be cleansed inwardly and Elohim heard his cry and met his need for cleansing.

Like Yeshayahu, many of the great heroes of faith saw themselves as they are in the sight of an Almighty Elohim and humbled themselves before יהוה: Let’s take a look at some of them:

Aḇraham:

Berěshith/Genesis 18:27 “And Aḇraham answered and said, “Look, please, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to יהוה”

Ya’aqoḇ:

Berěshith/Genesis 32:10 “I do not deserve the least of all the kind acts and all the truth which You have shown Your servant, for I passed over this Yardĕn with my staff, and now I have become two groups.”

Iyoḇ:

Iyoḇ /Job 40:4 “See, I am insignificant, what would I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth.”

Dawiḏ:

Shemu’ĕl Bět/2 Samuel 7:18 “And Sovereign Dawiḏ̱ went in and sat before יהוה and he said, “Who am I, O Master יהוה? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?”

Sha’ul:

Timotiyos Aleph/1 Timothy 1:15 “Trustworthy is the word and worthy of all acceptance, that Messiah יהושע came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.”

Kěpha:

Luqas/Luke 5:8-11: “And when Shim’on Kěpha saw it, he fell down at the knees of יהושע, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a man, a sinner, O Master!” 9 For astonishment had seized him and all those with him, at the catch of fish which they took, 10 so too were Yaʽaqoḇ and Yoḥanan, the sons of Zaḇdai, who were partners with Shim’on. Then יהושע said to Shim’on, “Do not fear, from now on you shall catch men.” 11 And having brought the boats to land, they left all and followed Him.”

When we look intently into the mirror of the Word we must not forget what we look like and make sure that we are true doers of the Word and not hearers only!

Ya’aqoḇ/James 1:23-25 “Because if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror, 24 for he looks at himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what he was like. 25 But he that looked into the perfect Torah, that of freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing of the Torah.”

What we must never lose sight of, as king Uzziyahu did, is that we need a Saviour/Deliverer to continually lead, guide and teach us in the Way of set-apartness!

When we have sight and can ‘see’ our Master through His Living Word and can understand who He is and make the bold confession before many witnesses then we are enabled to have the proper ability to look in at our own lives and measure it up against the plumb-line of the Truth of our Elohim!

As we look up and are then enabled to properly look in and do what the Word instructs then we are cleansed through the Word and are further enabled to look out and see the need for the reign to be boldly proclaimed and call many sinners to repentance!

Yeshayahu’s unclean lips were cleansed and his crookedness was taken away as he received the refining fire of deliverance straight from a live coal that was taken from the slaughter place, which shadow pictures the sacrifice of our Master who entered into the Most Set-Apart Place in the heavens with His blood, having obtained everlasting redemption and by His sacrifice He can restore unto those who draw near and confess, a clean lip! By His Blood we are able to have our conscience cleansed from dead works in order to serve the living Elohim

Yeshayahu was now cleansed and ready to serve!

After having looked up and looked in he responded in humility with an honest confession and was cleansed and now equipped to serve with a clean lip!

A cleansed servant becomes a willing servant! Yeshayahu jumped at the opportunity to be the one whom יהוה would send! What we can learn from this is that when one is reluctant to speak up and proclaim the Truth it may be a sign that there is some uncleanness that needs to be dealt with, which calls for a proper ability to ‘look up’, and by that I mean looking intently into the Word and seeking our Master and Elohim, after which the proper ability to ‘look in’ will be done with humility and honesty by looking intently into the mirror of the Word and doing what the word commands without compromise or excuse!

The harvest is ripe and the workers are few! Our Master said that we should pray that the Master of the harvest send out more workers! What we need are more people that will look up, look in and then look out!

In my title of this message I said ‘lookout’ as one word and not two, in order to bring in a play on words as we take note of a twofold responsibility of a true cleansed servant that looks up and in! Firstly we are to ‘look out’ and see the need for the Truth be proclaimed without compromise and that we are to ‘look out’ for each other and encourage each other daily in the Word, yet we are also called to be on the ‘lookout’, and by that I mean that we are to be watchmen on the walls, so to speak! When we understand that we are living stones being built up in the Master then we who are watchmen on the walls are to watch out for each other and warn each other when an attack is coming or when we see something that is not right!

As part of us being called to go and make taught ones of the nations, we too recognise that we are to go and speak to a people who will most likely not hear the Truth nor see what has been clearly revealed to us. Do not let this stop you, for we take note that the question of how long he should make the heart of the people fat, their ears heavy and shut their eyes, he was told until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant. This means that we are to proclaim the reign until our Master comes!

Today we can learn a lot from this amazing experience Yeshayahu had with our Master. The outlook was bleak, so he looked up! Which in turn caused him to look inwardly at his own sinfulness in contrast with a pure and set-apart Elohim; he could do nothing but recognise and repent his sin before יהוה and receive cleansing and forgiveness from יהוה our Saviour and Redeemer. The ability to see as יהוה sees was clearer and he was now not merely looking at the bleak outlook but rather recognised the need and that יהוה wanted to use Him, despite the negative reaction that would come, for Yeshayahu knew the truth! Yeshayahu had seen יהוה on His throne and the esteem of יהוה had been revealed to him, which had now made him responsible to be a watchman and speak up and call a hard hearted and blind people to repentance!

For all of us who have turned to the Master have had the veil of traditions and falsehood removed in order for us to know our Mighty Elohim and draw near to Him in complete humility and reverent fear, in order that we can serve Him and be His ambassadors amidst a wicked and crooked generation!

There are many lessons we can take from this account, of which one of the most important ones is to recognise the set-apartness of our Mighty Elohim, for He calls us to be set-apart as He is set-apart. If anyone struggles at being set-apart then it is because they do not understand nor know the set-apartness of Elohim, which may be the result of not properly seeking Him and meditating on His Word day and night!

As we consider the times that we are living in and how many have hardened their hearts to the truth and shut their ears to the hearing of the Torah we must recognise the responsibility that we have with what the Master has given us and be bold in our confession and declaration of who He is and proclaim His reign that is coming. Perhaps circumstances that have not been as favourable as you would like them to be has caused you to stop ‘looking up’ and in the process your ‘looking in’ has been destructive rather than constructive as you have fallen prey to the pity party of doubts and fears that silence your confession and has made you weak in your walk, which in the process has caused you to point fingers and caused your ability to ‘look out’ to be a slanderous one as opposed to a ‘lookout’ that builds and encourages.

We know that יְשַׁעְיָהוּYeshayahu – Strong’s H3470 means ‘salvation of Yah/ Yahweh saves’, and I want to remind you tonight that our Saviour and Elohim reigns and the earth is filled with His esteem.

Knowing this should cause us to be urgent in our need to be looking to the Prince and Perfector of our belief as we ‘look up’ and lift our heads, for our redemption draws near!

What we must also be prepared for is the cleansing power of His Word that washes us from all that stains and defiles, and we must allow His Word to do that without kicking against the called for set-apartness. When we can properly look up and look in then we will be fully equipped to look out and be unhindered in our walk of faith as we lift the banner of praise to Him who reigns!

We are the Dwelling Place of Elohim, and we take note of what Tehillah/Psalm 95:5 tells us:

As we consider the set-apartness of our Mighty Elohim and that which befits His House may we be a people that are fervent in our love for Him and urgent in our need to look up, look in and look out!

While most have shut their eyes and closed their ears … let us hear the words of our Master who makes it clear in His Word that which is required of us and then declares to us… “He who has ears let him hear”!!!

How is your vision? If it has been impaired in any way – let Messiah give you a recovery of sight and maintain the 20/20 functional eyes that יהוה has made, and be equipped in Him to:

LOOK UP, LOOK IN… AND LOOKOUT!

יהוה bless your and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show favour to you; יהוה lift up His face to you and give you Shalom